Healthy Holidays

For me, if I’m going to try something new in the kitchen, I want it to be something I would consider making regularly. My daughter wants to me to make latkes, so I have been searching for a version with a little more nutrition and a little less oil. Here are some suggestions:

Cooking Light offers up a lesson on how to fry a latke with less oil as part of its Modern Hannukah menu. Their recipe for leek and potato fritters uses a combination of cooking spray and just 4 teaspoons of cooking oil. And instead of light sour cream, they serve up lemon-cumin yogurt. Based on the nutrition label provided on the site, this version gets just 28 percent of its calories from fat — not bad for a fried potato dish.

The food blog Slashfood suggested a baked-version of latkes that I plan to try. Even though baked latkes often are less crispy (and tasty) than the fried version, Slashfood promises that this one turns out crispier than most.

Healthy is great, but the whole point is to eat fried foods like latkes and doughnuts to commemorate portion of the Hanukah story about the miracle of one barrel of oil lasting 8 days – more than it normally would have. Not sure that baked makes the cut…

FROM TPP — You make a good point, but all these versions still use oil, even the baked versions.

I am with SEA, poster #3. I understand that we have to watch what we eat (99% of the time. ) But if we don’t enjoy the holiday traditions, once a year, what is the point of living? I, for one, do not want to be the oldest person alive in the old folk’s home, just because I watched my diet.

Oh, just make the latkes and enjoy them!
Maybe not all 8 nights. The best ones I ever made were the accompaniment to a roast duck; I fried the latkes in the duck fat and served with a sauce made by deglazing the roasting pan with red wine and prunes – so there! ;)

For variety and a nod to health, there are ricotta pancakes. Made with fat-free riccotta and egg whites, they don’t soak up oil the way potato latkes do, so you can have your fried food and eat it too.

You can call a zucchini pancake, a fritter, whatever, but true latkes are made using potatoes and a lot of oil. That’s the whole point of Hanukkah, to celebrate the miracle of oil. It’s why some homes also have doughnuts (fried in oil) to observe the tradition.

My mom made latkes every year and I helped make them for religious school once I was old enough, and the best part is frying them in oil and listening to them sizzle.

“But for people who are health-conscious year round, it’s hard to imagine ingesting fried potatoes, no matter what the occasion.”

Really? Hard to imagine? Fried potatoes?

I didn’t think it was a big deal. It’s not like you’re eating twinkies, for god’s sake.

Boy, I’m relaxed about my diet.

A day without chocolate is a day without, well, chocolate. Either way, I love my sweets and my fats…and my caffeine.

FROM TPP — I don’t have a problem with chocolate or caffeine. But to me, a fried potato is like drinking coke or a twinkie. It’s just empty calories. Is there any redeeming value to a fried potato? I don’t think so. I agree eating anything indulgent on occasion is fine, but there is a downside to consuming even one meal with large amounts of fat. I think I’m going to blog about this tomorrow. This whole notion that there is no risk to pigging out once a year isn’t really true.

Eat healthy the rest of the year and you can stop obsessing about a couple latkes on the holiday. (Some of these ideas sound like a good idea for other times of the year.) I made these last night, and got an excellent response: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Potato-Latkes-I (I recommend cutting the salt in half).

Eat healthy the rest of the year and you can stop obsessing about a couple latkes on the holiday. (Some of these ideas sound like a good idea for other times of the year.) I made these last night, and got an excellent response: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Potato-Latkes-I/Detail.aspx (I recommend cutting the salt in half).

I’m really looking forward to scientific evidence that there are downsides to eating even *one* high fat meal per year, especially considering the recent evidence that “high fat” diets aren’t nearly as bad as we were once taught.

Spare me. I’ll take my latkes fried in lots of oil. It works for my 91 year old grandparents.

In my experience, people who say, “just eat it without thinking about it and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy” are usually doing so most of the time, though deny it they will.

I appreciate this entry–I also believe a noble celebration of a miracle is to regard the temple of one’s body as a G-d given gift, and find balance between tradition, knowledge, and what each of us finds as right in the light of our conscience.

In my conscience, the healthier the celebration, the more sanctified to the giver of all life and health.

TPP, Interesting that you feel that there is no redeeming value in a fried potato. Potatoes are actually quite nutritious – and a potato peeled with its vitamin-packed skin is just as delicious. As starches go, I think it’s not bad compared to some!

I made very traditional latkes the last 2 nights and enjoyed them hugely – but I suppose everyone who is food and nutrition conscious has a line across which they will not go! (For me, I have certain foods that, if I eat one I’ll eat a hundred – don’t start me on tortilla chips.) Latkas would fall into that category except that I grate the potatoes and onions by hand, so I can’t make very many!

I made 80 latkes last night for 8 people, all fried in peanut oil.(the latkes, I mean, not the people). Served with applesauce and sour cream. At the end of the evening, one latke remained and was cheerfully consumed by our dog, O’Melly, Everyone went home happy, supremely satisfied and beyond culinary bliss. You wanna take that away from me in favor of zucchini with 4 teasoons of oil? maybe soy oil, for heaven’s sake?

More 2 cents on the latkes..ok..its not healthy..but it is a tradition worth preserving..and if the truth be told despite all the new versions I prefer..and so do my friends the version handed down to me by my grandmother..an excellent cook from eastern europe..Here is the recipe..which was served with an applesauce made of plums..italian prune..and apples..very simply cooked equal weight..no sugar or lemon juice is needed when the plums are perfect..as they were in Montepulciano this summer..yes I actually imported my home done sauce..crazy..but in a good way..so…the latkes are made by:

on a box grater medium size holes..grate 3 idaho potatoes and one yellow onion. add a tablespoon of either rendered chicken fat..the original or oil..works fine…mix in an egg..sprinkle over the mix a soup spoon of flour..to prevent excessive color change..Then heat an inch or two of oil in a frying pan..its ready when a test spoon of the mix immediately starts to sizzle..this is a trial and error method..if the mix is slushy..not shredded and placed in the pan thinly spread out and maybe a bit lowered by the back of the spoon..you want thin..not thick..the mix should cook rapidly enough to brown with delicate lacy edges and not pick up the oil..then flip and cook the other side…dont flip til the first side is golden or you will have a mess…store single layered on paper towels in a 250 degree oven or paper bags will do too..dont layer as they become soggy..serve with applesauce..its a treat not an everyday meal..If you love them as much as my daughter there will be the inevitable stomach ache as a finale..Which if you ask her is worth it!

I’m far from a health nut, but I’m still a little concerned when I eat latkes/french fries/potato chips over the controversy that started a few years ago when scientists discovered high levels of carcinogenic acrylamide in browned potatoes. Is this a legitimate concern in your opinion? Is it just another sensational claim by the same puritan MDs who recommend avoiding just about everything that’s tasty? Are all empty calories created equal?

Not that any of this will affect my latke intake over the holidays (everything in moderation!), but it’d be helpful to keep in mind the next time a burger joint asks me if I want fries with that.

This person decries the evil of fried potatoes. It’s just hard for me to imagine this type of mentality.

A big part of life is about having a good time and eating good food, all while trying to keep things in moderation.

As you can see, the majority of readers seem to agree with this philosophy; the author would do herself a favor to ask whether it is she who is missing the greater point, and not the ignorant masses that this article aims to educate.
FROM TPP — As I said, I’m looking for a little more nutrition, a little less oil — that’s hardly an extreme stance.

It’s not going to kill us to eat a latke or two. We make latkes on one night of Hannukah. I make my own applesauce and we eat them together and we’re happy. I’m not going to ruin my latke joy to save a few calories once a year.

To further horrify TP-P, I fry latkes in olive oil and butter. It’s a once-a-year thing by someone who eats few fried foods.

FROM TPP — Not horrified at all. I use olive oil and butter myself. But like you, I rarely eat fried food, not because I’m a health nut by any stretch, but because I think there are better more flavorful ways to prepare food.

Wow, there’s no treat, however simple, that the food police won’t try to ruin or attach guilt to. Holidays are for treats — in moderation, that’s what makes them ‘treats’ , they’re not supposed to be dietary staples eaten in bastardized form year round.

Is nothing sacred? Have we gotten so carried away with politically correct eating (which has its merits, I concede) that we can’t just enjoy the season and the holidays. What are we living for anyway if it’s not to share delicious food with family and friends. TPP is a party pooper.